Artist’s impression of a gamma-ray burst shining through two young galaxies in the early Universe

This artist’s impression shows two galaxies in the early Universe. The brilliant explosion on the left is a gamma-ray burst. The light from the burst travels through both galaxies on its way to Earth (outside the frame to the right). Analysis of observations of the light from this gamma-ray burst made using ESO’s Very Large Telescope have shown that these two galaxies are remarkably rich in heavier chemical elements.